Every creature – human and wildlife – basked in the oh-so-welcome rays of sunlight that brightened the scene and sparkled on the water of Lost Lagoon this afternoon.

All of the swans were peacefully enjoying the afternoon – whoa….did I say peacefully? What a surprise to see one of our “cute” ex-Ambleside swans terrorizing Junior! One of the cygnets is … well … he’s big, really BIG – much larger than Junior, who’s quite slender.

There he was, in perfect adult warrior-swan pose, neck laid back, wings up, pedal-to-the-metal, tearing after Junior, who made a dash for shore where I stood. There were skid-marks on the water! Junior arrived, wings flapping as he struggled to climb the slope, his pursuer snapping at his rear, while Precious (Junior’s dad) “King-of-the-Lagoon” floated nearby, just watching the whole scene unfold. Something has GOT to be wrong here!

Once Junior had made it safely on land, I stood in front of the Little Brown Bully, pointing a finger at his bill (busily snapping in all directions). “Oh no you don’t, young fellow – back into the water – just chill out!” With much tail-twitching and snorts to show his disgust at the interruption of his enterprise, he moved back into the water, hovering nearby.

After a little time, Junior felt he could risk a swim. No sooner had his feet hit the water than the menacing swan headed back in his direction. Aha! At LAST! Precious decided enough was enough. Rising on the water with a great WHOOSH, he spread his wings wide and skimmed the surface; in one lightning stroke, he landed on Little Bully’s back, took a firm biting grasp at the base of his neck, (that had to hurt!) and steered him like a boat halfway across the lagoon. The young swan is almost as large as Precious himself, but oh he had no idea of the speed and strength of Junior’s angry dad.

The other swans, young and old, watched the wild splashing and flapping from a safe distance - did I detect a little swan-nod from a couple of the other Ambleside Kids? Little Bully has been known to chase them too, so they may not have minded seeing him put in his place. Meanwhile, Precious, having made his point with suitable aplomb, returned to shore to announce his triumph and collect praise from his audience, human and swan.

Peace reigned once again, as one distant brown swan seemed content to explore the far side of the lagoon in solitude. Might this be the swan-equivalent to being made to stand in the corner?